Luke Bryan Opens Up About the Deaths of Both Siblings

Luke Bryan might seem to have it all -- a successful career, along with a beautiful wife and two rambunctious little boys. But behind all of that, the singer has had to deal with unimaginable sorrow -- the deaths of both his brother and his sister.

In November of 1996, Bryan was mere days away from packing up his stuff in his hometown of Leesburg, Ga. and moving to Nashville when his older brother Chris was tragically killed in a car accident. Bryan immediately canceled his plans.

"I was never convinced I'd get back to Nashville, but I didn't spend time on, 'Should I go or should I not?'' he tells People magazine (quote via Taste of Country). "It was just, 'Not going.' Your mother had just lost a child. At that point, her youngest son was not going to leave the house. Chris' dying got me a little more mature."

Bryan stayed in Georgia five more years, until his father convinced him to make the move to Music City. He quickly landed a record and publishing deal, but just as his debut album, 'I'll Stay Me,' was climbing the charts, his sister Kelly unexpectedly passed away at the age of 39.

"She was home with her three-year-old, and it was like someone turned the lights out," he recalls. "They never determined what happened. The autopsies, the coroner, no one could figure it out."

The 'That's My Kind of Night' singer admits losing both his brother and his sister is a pain he still deals with today.

"I don't like it," he says. "I don't like that my sons are missing that side of my family. But someone else is deciding things."

Both siblings would undoubtedly be proud of their brother. His latest album, 'Crash My Party,' debuted at the top of the charts, and the album's title track -- as well as the follow-up single, 'That's My Kind of Night' -- landed in the No. 1 spot as well.

Bryan is nominated for three CMA Awards, including the night's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. He will continue his Dirt Road Diaries tour on Thursday, Oct. 17, with a concert in Arkansas, followed by two shows in Nashville. See his complete schedule here.

Country Stars Who Have Suffered Unthinkable Tragedies